In May 2000, during reconstruction of New Jersey Route 29, remains of a stoneware pottery kiln were documented on the banks of the Delaware River in Lamberton, the historic port of Trenton, New Jersey. The kiln was part of a pottery complex established by William Richards in the early 1770s that stayed in operation at least into the Revolutionary War years.[1]
Among the roughly 14,000 sherds and items of kiln furniture recovered during emergency excavations conducted at the kiln site are three sherds that display distinctive bellarmine-like applied faces on their exterior surfaces (fig. 1). Although it is not possible to obtain full profiles of the vessels decorated in this manner, analysis of the kiln assemblage allows these faces to be linked with a series of small, tan-bodied stoneware jugs, some of which have a dark brown slip coating on their exteriors. The jugs in question are of gallon size or smaller, with an interior rim diameter of only about one inch.
Matching the body and surface treatment of the face sherds with other sherds reveals that several of the jugs had pierced handles, implying that they had metal (perhaps silver or pewter) lids. Furthermore, a number of the rim sherds with the matching body and surface treatment exhibit an external lid seat. Base sherds show no evidence of pedestals, which corroborates their typing as bulbous jugs rather than serving vessels, such as bottles, flagons, or tankards. The three sherds have the faces encircled within an incised scalloped border, a Richards pottery signature decorative motif used especially in the definition of lobed flowers on chamber pots, tea bowls, and tankards.
Although it is possible to link the face sherds with a particular vessel type, it is difficult to better characterize the jugs. For instance, it is unclear if the bodies of these vessels exhibited any further decoration, or whether they had an otherwise plain brown exterior. It is clear, however, that the faces are applied high on the vessel shoulder, in much the same fashion as on Bellarmine vessels, and were not, for example, positioned on a pouring spout.
To date, no other American-made colonial stoneware vessels with applied facial decoration have been found, making the Richards examples unique.[2] That only three out of several thousand sherds were identified as face-decorated suggests limited production of a special order item, which— if true—means that these vessels will be sparsely represented in ceramic collections and archaeological assemblages. All three faces are made from the same mold, further stressing their uniqueness.
The influences behind the Richards jugs with applied face decoration are unclear. While the term “bellarmine” is hoisted in the banner headline for this brief article, there are substantive differences between the Richards face and those found on typical European bellarmine vessels.[3] The latter, also referred to as “graybeards” or “bartmännern,” generally depict abundant, boldly formed facial hair and frequently bear an oval medallion. Neither trait is evident on the Richards specimens, although what appears to be a rudimentary beard-like growth (possibly the result of scoring to attach the sprig-molded face to the vessel body) is a distinguishing characteristic on these jugs.
The expressive faces on European bellarmine vessels—smiling, frowning, or challengingly fierce—are also absent. The Richards face is more naturalistic, but blank, somewhat akin to a death mask, and notable for its very slightly sticking-out tongue. One presumes that the face is intended to be male, but this is not entirely certain. Indeed, the protruding tongue is reminiscent of the currently popular line of American Girl dolls. More believably, the peeping tongue was intended to “cock a snook” at the British Crown, a sentiment entirely in keeping with William Richards’ patriotic service as ships’ husband to the Pennsylvania Navy during the Revolutionary War.[4] It is relevant that one of the few broadly datable items in the assemblage is a sherd sprig molded “GR” (a reference to Georgius Rex, King George III), implying that the final kiln firing and waster deposition took place before the British imperial yoke had been fully unharnessed.
A more secure, if non-committal, conclusion is that the Richards face does not seek to imitate the European bellarmines exactly and probably owes little to this German, Low Countries, and English tradition that was in somewhat of a lull in the second half of the eighteenth century. This visage is more likely inspired by contemporary taste for the pseudo-classical as seen in the use of naturalistic anthropomorphic decoration on jugs and other wares in a variety of ceramic fabrics. The Richards face should thus be viewed perhaps less as a continuation of ceramic tradition and more as an expression of social commentary in the vein of Hogarthian or Diderotist illustration.[5]
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors in particular wish to acknowledge Ivor Noël Hume for stimulating our thought processes in the preparation of this article and for drawing our attention to relevant comparative material. We have also appreciated the input and comment of many of our colleagues, notably Ian Burrow, George Cress, Damon Tvaryanas and Rebecca White at Hunter Research, Inc., Meta Janowitz at URS, and David Zmoda at the New Jersey Department of Transportation.
William B. Liebeknecht
Principal Archaeologist
Hunter Research, Inc.
<wbl@hunterresearch.com>
Richard W. Hunter, Ph.D.
President and Principal Archaeologist
Hunter Research, Inc.
<rwhunter@hunterresearch.com>
<http://hunterresearch.com>
